Who Should I Start? Chuba Hubbard or Jahmyr Gibbs
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.6 | 49.2 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 13.5 | 0.1 |
Chuba Hubbard News
Wednesday, July 8, 6:01 AM
Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard was one of the biggest surprises in fantasy in 2024, racking up 1,366 yards and 11 touchdowns in a season that would earn him a four-year, $33 million extension with the team. Injuries and inconsistency derailed his 2025 campaign, and he finished the year as the clear backup to Rico Dowdle, handling double-digit carries only one time after Week 8. With Dowdle departing in free agency and the Panthers making no significant additions to the position, Hubbard potentially faces a training camp battle with 2024 second-round pick Jonathon Brooks. Reports out of the non-padded setting of minicamp praised Brooks for the explosiveness he's recaptured since an ACL tear ended his rookie season, but it's important to remember the injury was the second of its kind in 13 months, sandwiched around only nine professional carries. It's extremely unlikely that Brooks would step fully into Dowdle's vacated role and inherit the bulk of his 282 opportunities from a season ago. With Hubbard now also nearly ten months removed from the calf injury that landed him on injured reserve and reportedly tested his confidence upon his return, a split backfield in Carolina could lead to one of the league's more ambiguous situations and depressed ADPs for both players. Neither Hubbard nor Brooks is currently being drafted within the top 30 of the position, and with Dave Canales producing a top 16 fantasy back in each of his three seasons calling plays for Carolina and Tampa Bay, the opportunity is there for one or both to return difference-making value in 2026.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20.6 | 76.5 | 0.7 | 4.0 | 31.7 | 0.2 |
Jahmyr Gibbs News
Sunday, June 28, 6:00 AM
In case the Detroit Lions' trading of David Montgomery to the Texans was not signal enough that fourth-year running back Jahmyr Gibbs was going to be the team's bell cow back for the 2026 season, head coach Dan Campbell said the words clear as day in one of his first media sessions of organized team activities, telling reporters, "He's going to be our bell cow now," and then later, "We're going to hang our hat on him quite a bit. We're going to do a lot of things we feel like he does well." Running backs coach Tashard Choice, who has known Gibbs since he was a high school recruit, has since expressed belief that the 2023 first-round pick is in the best shape of his life, and having already finished as the RB4 and the RB2 in his past two seasons (while Montgomery was still averaging more than 200 touches of his own), expectations are through the roof for 2026. The Lions signed former Chief Isiah Pacheco to a one-year deal in free agency, but after averaging more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage over his first two years in the league, the 2022 seventh-round pick has struggled through injuries and has been held to only 952 yards and three touchdowns across the past two seasons. While he will undoubtedly play a role in keeping Gibbs fresh, all the rhetoric out of Detroit suggests that the backfield is ready to be fully handed over to one of the most explosive playmakers in the league. As such, Gibbs has earned the top overall spot in RotoBaller's 2026 single-quarterback fantasy rankings.
Chuba Hubbard vs. Jahmyr Gibbs
Still trying to decide between Hubbard and Gibbs? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Chuba Hubbard is projected to score 10.6 points this week while Jahmyr Gibbs is projected to score 20.6 points.
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